


bitter and sweet and dark and dense (An Arashi Collection)

by tsuristyle



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Chocolate, Hanging out in bathtubs, Ice Skating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 23:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8918242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsuristyle/pseuds/tsuristyle
Summary: One-shots and drabbles, mostly from fic prompts.Somebody (217 words, G) - Ohmiya.A Hands-on Lesson (292 words, G) - Sho/Jun, rehearsing Bittersweet.Getting the Hang of It (177 words, G) - Ohmiya go ice skating.bitter and sweet and dark and dense (883 words, G) - Jun gives handmade chocolate to his bandmates.Captured With a Kiss (270 words, PG) - Aiba/Jun, watching Jun's chocolate drama.Laundry Day (372 words, G) - Aiba/Jun, folding laundry.The Good Ship Fanservice and Profit (313 words, PG) - Nino captains the Sho/Jun ship.





	1. Somebody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Written December 2009.)

Ohno was about to put aside his sketchbook and sleep when his phone buzzed. It was the middle of the night.  
  
"I'm on your doorstep," Nino said. "Can I spend the night?"  
  
"Sure." Ohno wandered downstairs and navigated through the dark to the front door. He opened it, still holding the phone to his ear. "Are you drunk?"  
  
"No," Nino replied, stepping inside. Ohno hung up his phone. His bandmate looked more tired than usual.  
  
He waited as Nino slipped his shoes off and put his coat away. "Break-up?"  
  
His bandmate shut the closet door quietly and gave him a weak half-smile. "Another break-up."  
  
Ohno led the way back upstairs. He privately thought that maybe it would be better if Nino _did_ drink at times like these. At least that way he wouldn't just fold his emotions over on themselves and pretend they didn't exist.  
  
They climbed into his bed, and Nino wrapped his arms around Ohno's waist, burying his face in his bandmate's chest. "Why can't I hang on to a girlfriend?"  
  
Ohno returned the hug. "You'll find somebody," he said, simply.  
  
Nino let out a long breath. "I love you," he mumbled, like he always did.  
  
"I love you, too," Ohno replied, like he always did. He couldn't figure out why Nino never believed him.


	2. A Hands-on Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Sho needs a refresher on their choreography and staging for Bittersweet. Jun spares some time from his drama preparations to help him.
> 
> (Written February 2014.)

_koi wa amakute nigai toketeku_ \-- wait, no, he's off by a beat.  
  
 _koi wa amakute nigai_ \-- shoot, was it the third beat or the fourth?  
  
 _koi wa amakute_ \-- no, dammit, that's not right--  
  
Sho swears under his breath and hits the back button again. He'd had this down before he'd left, it hadn't even been that long, and it's not even a particularly tricky dance move, so why can't he get this part _right_?  
  
He's about to start the song again when a pair of hands settle on his waist. "It's one, two, three, _four_ ," Jun tells him, guiding him through the move.  
  
Sho tugs one of his earbuds out, glancing over his shoulder. "I thought you were memorizing lines."  
  
Jun flashes him a wry smile. "Hard to concentrate with you stumbling around in the corner like this."  
  
"Sorry." Sho glances down; Jun's hands are still on his hips. It's a good place for them to be, he thinks, and then tells himself he must still be exhausted because that's a really weird thought to have. "Could you show me that again?"  
  
Jun counts off again, and again, and again, guiding Sho until they're moving together in synchrony. His voice seems to get a little closer each time, but that's probably just Sho's imagination.  
  
"Got it?" Jun asks, leaning forward to peek over Sho's shoulder.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks." Jun's hands start to leave his waist, and suddenly this seems like an alarming prospect. Sho hastily fumbles for his dangling earbud. "Wait, um, actually--"  
  
The hands pause, lingering. "Yeah?"  
  
Sho looks back, holding out the earbud. "Could you help me with the whole chorus? There, uh, might be more parts I've forgotten."  
  
Jun smiles, and steps in close to accept it. "Of course."


	3. Getting the Hang of It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ohmiya SK + ice skating.
> 
> (Written February 2014.)

"I'm telling you," Nino said, clinging to the rail in a desperate bid for balance, "this is a really bad idea."  
  
"Just hold onto my hands," Ohno told him, holding his palms out. "It's really fun once you get the hang of it."  
  
After about five minutes of wobbly coaching, Ohno managed to coax Nino away from the rail. He skated backward, matching the younger man's slow, hesitant pace.  
  
"Show off," Nino grumbled. Ohno squeezed his hands.  
  
Nino turned red and looked down at the ice, pretending to focus on his steps. "I think I can go a little bit--"  
  
A skater whizzed by carelessly close, and Nino startled, tumbling forward as his skates slipped out from under him. Ohno slid in and caught him in a hug.  
  
Nino clung tightly to him, even after he'd regained his balance. "See?" Ohno murmured into his neck. "I told you it was fun."  
  
"I could do without the twisted ankles part," Nino muttered back, and grabbed his hands again. "One more round, and then you're buying me lunch."


	4. bitter and sweet and dark and dense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: ChocoJun delivers handmade chocolates to his Valentine(s).
> 
> (Written February 2014.)

Jun drops a box unceremoniously in Nino's lap, where it lands between the DS and Nino's crotch. Nino picks it up with his thumb and forefinger, examining it suspiciously.  
  
"It's chocolate," Jun tells him. "You know. What you get on Valentine's Day."  
  
Nino carefully pries the lid open, as if there might be a ticking time bomb inside. "So, what, you want me to be your Valentine or something?"  
  
"Don't flatter yourself." Jun rolls his eyes. "They just had me make some for the drama, that's all."  
  
"So these have your fingerprints all over them?" Nino raises an eyebrow at him. "That's totally disgusting, Jun."  
  
"Only the best for my dear Kazunari," Jun replies sweetly, and sits down to work on his next script.  
  
Nino finishes the chocolates in less than five minutes. Jun hides his irrationally happy smile behind his script, and makes a note to ask for more baking lessons from the director.  
  
~  
  
Aiba sees the box in his hands the moment Jun steps into the room, which quickly puts an end to the carefully crafted plan he'd been rehearsing in his head.  
  
"Ooh, who'd you get chocolate from?" Aiba drifts over curiously, standing next to Jun to peer at the box.  
  
"They're not from anyone, actually." Jun curses mentally, racking his brain for a Plan B.  
  
"So they're _for_ someone, then?" Aiba elbows him secretively. "Who's the lucky girl?"  
  
"Um--" Nothing for it, really. "Here," Jun says as casually as he can, handing Aiba the chocolates. "It's, um, nothing special or anything."  
  
"Jun! Did you make these?" Aiba flips open the lid, his face lighting up in a grin. "They've got little animal faces on them!"  
  
Jun fights hard to keep from blushing. "They're not really that good, I was just practicing so they're not professional quality or anything--"  
  
"I _love_ them," Aiba declares, grabbing Jun's arm and leaning against him. Jun can't tell if it's supposed to be a cuddle or a manly shoulder bump, but it ends with Aiba still clinging to his arm, so he can't bring himself to mind.  
  
~  
  
Ohno's chocolates are suspiciously well-decorated, with little white chocolate flairs and sprinkles carefully placed just so. Not that he thinks Ohno will notice or anything, but it's the thought that counts.  
  
"Here, Leader." Jun leans over the back of the couch, gently balancing the box of chocolates on his bandmate's stomach. "Happy Valentine's Day."  
  
"Hm?" Ohno glances around his phone-- checking some fishing site, as always-- and sees the box. "Oh. Thanks."  
  
Jun waits, but Ohno just focuses on his phone again and slips back into the world of fishing. About what he'd expected, really.  
  
He circles the couch and shoves Ohno over, perching on the edge with the box in hand. "You should start with this one, Leader," he says, leaning over to feed a chocolate to his bandmate. "It's strawberry filling with white chocolate on top."  
  
Ohno obediently accepts the chocolate. "It's good," he mumbles, for once not looking at his stupid fishing site. "You made them?"  
  
"Mm-hm." Jun licks a smudge of chocolate off his fingers-- now Leader is _definitely_ paying attention-- and reaches into the box again. Sometimes you have to _make_ the thought count, after all. "Next you should try the milk chocolate one, it's got a little bit of coffee liquer inside..."  
  
~  
  
Sho isn't sure where the box of chocolates came from-- one moment he's checking his schedule, and the next it's sitting there in front of him on the coffee table-- but it looks like it took someone hours of elaborate, painstaking work to put together. It looks... _serious_.  
  
He glances around the room, but no one else is there except his bandmates, in various states of concentration. "Anyone see who left this?"  
  
Next to him, Nino glances over from his DS. "Oh, someone gave you chocolates? Lucky you."  
  
"I'm serious," Sho protests, gesturing with the box. "These look really amazing."  
  
"I'll bet," Ohno mumbles from Aiba's lap. Aiba giggles and covers the older man's mouth. "They didn't leave you a note or anything?"  
  
Sho double-checks, but the chocolates' maker remains a mystery. "Are you sure you guys didn't see anyone?" He eyes Jun suspiciously. "You've been sitting right across from me this whole time."  
  
Jun barely looks up from his script. "Maybe you have a secret admirer."  
  
"A secret admirer?" Sho pauses thoughtfully, and the room seems to hold its breath for a moment. "I don't know, I can't think of anyone who'd go through _this_ much trouble for me." He pulls one of the chocolates out. "I mean, _look_ at this. It practically looks professional."  
  
"It's a shame," Nino agrees, sounding smug for some reason. "You'll just have to eat them all right here."  
  
"Ooh, and tell us how they taste!" Aiba elbows Jun with a grin. "Maybe Mr. Chocolatier here can pick up some tips for his drama."  
  
Jun stays firmly behind his script about a guy who makes chocolates for a living, and doesn't lower it even when Sho finishes the entire box.  
  
"You guys are no help," Sho grumbles, carefully shutting the empty box. "Who would make something this delicious?"  
  
"Don't worry," Jun assures him, sounding a little strained but very, very pleased. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."


	5. Captured With a Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: baka fluffy moment when they watched choco-jun together.
> 
> (Written February 2014.)

"He's looking at her butt! Is he gonna go for it?" Aiba leans forward, watching the screen eagerly. "He's totally gonna go for it, isn't he?"  
  
"Just watch it, dork." Jun elbows him in the side. On screen, his character closes his eyes.  
  
"He's going for it!" Aiba crows triumphantly, bouncing on the edge of the couch as Souta roughly kisses Saeko. "I _knew_ it, he-- whoa!"  
  
Jun feels his face get a little warm at this part-- it's one thing to act it out, fully immersed in the character, but watching it is completely different. _Especially_ with Aiba there.  
  
 _"You're going to capture me?"  
  
"I am."_  
  
"Wooooo!" Aiba pumps his fist in the air and tumbles back into the couch. "Kind of a dick move, though."  
  
Jun smacks him on the head. "It's just a fantasy. See?"  
  
Aiba pokes him back. "Good thing, you'd totally get slapped for kissing like that."  
  
"Hey!" Jun returns the poke, making Aiba giggle. "You of _all_ people don't get to comment on my kissing."  
  
"Why not? I'm the one who knows it best--" Aiba tries to poke Jun again, but Jun grabs his wrist.  
  
They pause, a split second of Aiba looking up at Jun in the glow of the television.  
  
"You're going to capture me?" Aiba murmurs, the corner of his mouth curving seductively.  
  
"I am," Jun murmurs back, and leans in to kiss him.  
  
(Aiba ruins the mood by giggling a second later, but he makes up for it by pulling Jun down on top of him on the couch, and after that they forget about watching the drama entirely.)


	6. Laundry Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Folding laundry and disagreeing whose way of doing it is better.
> 
> (Written February 2014.)

"Masaki," Jun said, staring at the disaster zone surrounding his bandmate on the living room floor. "That is not how you fold clothes."  
  
The jeans were folded in haphazard thirds, the shirts a wrinkled pile with sleeves sticking out every which way, and worst of all, all their underwear and socks were lumped together a single, shapeless, colorblind mass. Jun was beginning to see some problems with this whole living together thing.  
  
"It isn't?" Aiba glanced around at his handiwork. "They look pretty good to me."  
  
Jun sighed, and peeled a shirt off the top of the stack. "You have to fold the sleeves back like this first, then fold it over. See?" He smoothed down the newly-folded shirt, tugging the corners so it was perfectly wrinkle-free.  
  
"But my way's so much easier!" Aiba protested. "What's the point if you're just going to wear it again?"  
  
"Not looking like you've been sleeping at the bottom of a laundry basket," Jun replied curtly, reaching for the underwear pile. "How on earth did you survive like this?"  
  
Aiba watched in horror as he turned a pair of boxers into a tiny rectangle. "I could ask the same thing of _you_." He pulled another pair out of the pile, squinting at it. "Do I seriously have to fold these? Are you sure you're not just insane or something?"  
  
Jun scowled at him, fingers itching to fix the crooked stack of jeans. "It's an _important life skill_." He crossed his arms. "Would you rather go back to garbage duty?"  
  
"All right, all right." Aiba made a face and wrangled the boxers into an approximation of Jun's tidy little rectangle.  
  
They had just finished refolding the clothes when Aiba turned to the pile of freshly-dried sheets still waiting on the couch. "Now _this_ I know how to fold," Aiba said, and swept a sheet into the air, tackling Jun to the floor with it. The cloth swirled down around them, trapping them in a private little world of white. Aiba lifted his head from Jun's chest, grinning. "See?"  
  
They were going to have to wash the sheet again, but Jun had to admit-- there were some times when Aiba _did_ know the best way to do things.


	7. The Good Ship Fanservice and Profit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Nino dares Sho and Jun to up their fan service. Because Nino is captain of the Sakumoto ship. Of course Sho and Jun would demand a handsome reward.
> 
> (Written August 2014.)

"I'm just saying," Nino is saying, leaning over the edge of the hotel bathtub, "that you're missing a lot of opportunities here."  
  
"Unlike you, we don't feel the need to sell our souls to fanservice," Jun retorts, leaning against the bathroom counter with his arms crossed. "And get out of my bathtub, I need to take a shower."  
  
"It's my boat." Nino rests his chin on his elbows with a smirk. "I'm sailing for the island of hopeless causes."  
  
"You are a 31-year-old man," Jun replies, rolling his eyes. "Playing in my bathtub is not going to convince me to listen to you."  
  
"You already are," Nino observes, dropping one arm over the side. "I'm not even asking that much, really. You could just, you know, _actually_ touch each other instead of doing it accidentally and pretending you're not."  
  
Jun scowls at his overly-observant bandmate. "That's none of your business."  
  
Sho pokes his head into the bathroom. "Jun, can I borrow-- oh, hey Nino. What're you doing in the bathtub?"  
  
"Sailing a ship," Nino answers, still looking at Jun. "You should try it sometime, it's really a lot of fun."  
  
Jun glares back, and then crosses the tiles and yanks Sho into the room, kissing him hard and furious until they're both breathless against the bathroom wall. Nino stares at them, for once momentarily speechless.  
  
"Um," Sho manages, his shirt slightly askew.  
  
Jun glances back over his shoulder. "500 yen for each kiss. 300 if it's not on the lips." He raises an eyebrow, daring his bandmate to argue.  
  
"200 if it's not on the lips," Nino counters, with a triumphant smirk. "It's a _pirate_ ship," he adds, at Jun's look.  
  
"Um--"  
  
"Done." Jun turns back to Sho, straightening the older man's shirt with a predatory smile. "Now get out my bathtub, I'm going to need it a lot sooner than usual."


End file.
